I recently completed my last triathlon of the season, Ironman 70.3 Lake Stevens. The race went great and was a great wrap to a very successful triathlon season.

My focus now shifts to training for Portland Marathon on October 9th, so my ratio of swim/bike/run shifts from 25%/50%/25% to 15%/25%/60%. This allows me to increase my weekly mileage and arrange my training week around my 20+ mile long runs on Saturdays. Since April I’ve been training with the Get Fit Live Fit marathon program offered by Fit Right NW, which has offered not only guidance around how to safely approach the marathon distance, but also helped me work around injuries throughout the season.

After the marathon is over I look forward to two months of strength and light base training before I kick back into high gear in January. The main race next year for me will be Ironman Canada in August, and I am extremely excited for the challenge of preparing for such a demanding race.

I’ve never met anyone who didn’t like pizza! It’s certainly convenient to order delivery, and I definitely have a local favorite pizza shop that makes life easy when there is nothing cooking in my kitchen. But when I can, I also like to make my own pizza, from the crust up! A cornmeal pizza crust isn’t standard, but it makes this recipe special.

Use whatever toppings you like for this recipe. Right now the markets are overflowing with zucchini and peppers, so that is what topped this vegetarian pizza. I used prepared tomato sauce, shredded the zucchini, thinly sliced the red pepper and added mozzarella cheese to the top.

For the crust I modified a Martha Stewart recipe, and used Bob’s Red Mill Gluten-free Cornmeal and Gluten-free All-purpose Baking Flour. If you’re careful about your ingredients, this could easily make a great gluten-free pizza.

The recipe yields the perfect amount of pizza dough for either two, 6-inch personal pies, or one 12-14-inch pizza. You can even make the dough ahead of time and refrigerate it to use the following day.

If you’re looking for a thick, sink-your-teeth-into-the-dough pizza, this one isn’t for you. Instead, this is a thin, crisp crust made from cornmeal baked on a pizza stone. I hope you enjoy it!

Veggie Pizza with Cornmeal Crust

Ingredients:

• 2 tsp Active Dry Yeast
• Pinch of Sugar
•  2/3 cup warm Water (not hot)
• 1-2/3 cups Bob’s Red Mill Gluten-free All-purpose Baking Flour, plus extra for the work surface
• 1/4 cup Bob’s Red Mill Gluten-free Cornmeal, plus a bit extra reserved
• 1-1/2 tsp Coarse Salt
• 2 Tbsp Extra-Virgin Olive Oil, plus extra for the bowl

Directions:

- Add the warm water to a small bowl and sprinkle the yeast and sugar over it. Let it stand for about 10 minutes, until the yeast is dissolved and it’s foamy.

- Add the flour, cornmeal and salt to a large bowl. Make a well in the center of the mixture and add the yeast mixture and oil. Slowly stir the ingredients together with a wooden spoon until the dough comes together. Turn out the dough to a lightly floured work surface and knead it for several minutes until it’s smooth.

- If you’re making two personal pizzas, divide the dough into two balls and use two bowls. Add the dough to a shallow oiled bowl and turn it to coat. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and allow it to sit at room temperature for about an hour. You can also keep it in the refrigerator overnight.

- Preheat your oven to 500 degrees F. with the pizza stone on the lowest rack. When the dough is ready, stretch it out into either two rounds (for the personal pizzas) or one.

- Sprinkle some cornmeal onto a pizza peel (or use the bottom of a baking sheet if you don’t have a pizza peel). Place the dough on top and cover with sauce and your toppings.

- Slide the dough onto the pizza stone and bake until the crust is crisp and the cheese is bubbly, about 7-10 minutes, checking frequently. Serve warm.

Patricia is an independent writer with a passion for cooking and for food. It should come as no surprise, therefore, that among the subject matter she writes about, food is a regular topic. You can follow her on Twitter at @PatriciaConte. (http://twitter.com/#!/patriciaconte)

Ahhh, it’s September.  College Football, the NFL is starting for real and a nip of fall is in the air as the temperatures cool at night and the humidity drops.  It’s just about the time for the road weary cyclists to turn his thoughts to…wait for it…wait for it…CYCLOCROSS!

What?!  Wait a minute friend.  You’ve been at this stuff for a full year.  Remember?  You finished your season last year in mid September.  You took a few weeks to just enjoy riding a bike without your power meter and heart rate monitor.  Maybe you did a couple of club century rides, making sure to stop for the strawberry rhubarb pie and apple fritters along the route.  You played a couple of rounds of golf on some gorgeous autumn afternoons because everyone knows the best time to golf is after Labor Day when the masses are off the course and you can zip around in cart or walk a round by yourself and never see another soul on the course but for an occasional worker from the greens keeping crew.

Then, November came and with it, you began to build your fitness for the upcoming season.  You worked out on the trainer, lifted weights, took some hard spin classes and put in some hellish long weekends on the trainer to get up to 15 hours a week on the bike.  When the weather warmed enough to venture outside, you made the most of it, logging 4-6 hours of road time because you didn’t know when the next time would come that the weather would allow you to ride outside.

Then March came and so did the racing season and you’ve done more than 50 races.  It’s been a good year but you’re starting to show signs of fatigue.  The power meter is showing lower numbers each effort.  Your legs never really seem to clear the lactic acid during races and your attacks just aren’t crisp any more. It’s time to take a break.

But, all you can think about is cyclocross.  Hey, give yourself a rest.  Remember your winning formula from last year.  Leisurely bike rides, golf, toss that power meter to the curb and stop pushing…just for a bit.

Most of those hard core ‘cross racers didn’t put in serious road seasons.  Sure there are the rare few who are able to move right from the road to the mud and kick butt every step of the way but remember – they’re the exception, not the rule and besides – most of the time, those guys weren’t really on top form until July.  They plan it that way.  They’re resting too but just doing it later than you are.  If you’re a dedicated road racer going hard from February to October, you can’t jump directly into another racing season and expect to be effective.  You need to recover.  Here’s how.

• Keep yourself out of Zone 4 and 5 when you ride.  Keep things conversational. It’s important to not allow yourself to completely lose fitness but if you continue pushing, you’ll pay for it with fatigue in April.  Not good.
• Absolutely take a day off – especially when the weather is beautiful.  Take a walk in the woods with your dog, play some golf, go kayaking, fishing—anything but riding a bike.  It will do wonders for your mental recovery too.
• If you can stand it – do some running.  Use some different muscle groups
• Take a yoga class that emphasizes stretching and core strength
• Go to the gym and work on your depleted upper body.  Save the weight lifting with your legs for later.  Cyclists need to have some shoulder, back and core muscles too.
• Take up a hobby like cooking or baking.  Challenge yourself to see how many Bob’s Red Mill grains and flours you can use.
• Make sure you’re getting plenty of sleep at night.  The HGH your body produces during deep sleep is invaluable to helping you recover after a long season
• Go ahead and enjoy some ‘cross racing.  Why not?  Most people see it as a mental break from the road season.  It’s okay to have the occasional push, hard effort and have people ring cow bells in your ears.  Knock yourself out, but if you do a full ‘cross season, remember to take your recovery and rest period into the late winter before you start building for the road season.

Remember, even when you’re well trained and race fit and the efforts you make in races seem – well, effortless – you’re putting a lot of stress on your body and unless you give yourself a chance to recover both physically and mentally after a long season you’ll never really be able to reach peak performance next season.

My family came up with quinoa dish and most of its flavour comes from the dressing. Made with my grandmother’s homemade garlic butter, the dressing evens and rounds off the few ingredients to make their flavours come alive for a filling and satisfying meal. Not only that, it can be quickly and easily pulled together in practically no time.

Broccolini, Corn, and Shrimp Quinoa with Olive Oil Lemon Garlic Dressing

Serves 4-6

• 2 ½ cups Quinoa
• 4 ½ cups Water
• 1 bunch Broccolini, sliced (including stems)
• 1 tin Corn, sugar- and salt-free
• About 1/2 (400 grams/14-ounce) bag frozen, cooked Shrimp, thawed
• Olive Oil Lemon Garlic Dressing (recipe follows)

Put the quinoa in a medium or large pot with the water and bring to a boil. Once it reaches a boil, lower the heat and simmer for 20 minutes, covered. As soon as the quinoa is cooked, remove pot from heat and fluff quinoa with a fork. (You may also cook the quinoa in a rice cooker, if preferred.)

Meanwhile, steam the broccolini for about 15-20 minutes, or until bright green and tender. (My family uses an electric steamer for this, but you can also do this on the stove top. Place the broccolini in a steamer basket and fill a pot with some water; the water shouldn’t touch the steamer basket or broccolini. Bring the water to a simmer and cover, steaming broccolini until done.)

Gently stir the steamed broccolini into the cooked quinoa and add the corn. Stir in the cooked and thawed shrimp last.

Serve the quinoa with the dressing and serve. Enjoy!

Olive Oil Lemon Garlic Dressing

I usually make this dressing by feel, so these measurements are only approximate.

• Garlic butter (recipe follows for homemade version)
• Olive oil
• Freshly squeezed lemon juice

Put about 2 tablespoons garlic butter in a small vessel and add 4-6 tablespoons olive oil. Stir together with a fork until completely blended. Mix in a good squeeze of lemon juice, about 1-2 tablespoons. Adjust to taste.

Homemade Garlic Butter

This is how my grandmother makes garlic butter, and it is much stronger than store bought. Optionally, you may roast the garlic for a milder flavour. The addition of olive oil keeps the butter at a spreadable consistency, even straight from the fridge.

Using a head of garlic, peel garlic cloves and place in a food processor. Cover the cloves with olive oil and whiz until liquid. Add an equal amount of butter, adjusting to taste as needed or suited to personal preference. Store leftovers in the fridge.

Zoe of Z’sCupofTea started cooking and baking gluten-free, dairy-free, and Specific Carbohydrate Diet (SCD) friendly foods for her brother recovering from autism when she was a teen, which eventually prompted her to start her blog where she shares her own recipes and those that she’s adapted from other sources including cookbooks and other food blogs with photos and videos. In addition to her blog, you can also follow her on Twitter (@zscupoftea) and be a fan on Facebook (www.facebook.com/zscupoftea).

• 1/4 cup Bob’s Red Mill Popping Corn (Yellow or White)
• A light misting of Olive Oil
• 2 Tbsp Bob’s Red Mill Nutritional Yeast Flakes
• Salt and Freshly Ground Pepper, to taste

No matter if you are a triathlon newbie or a seasoned athlete, there seems to always be more to learn and understand about how to best train and prepare for triathlons. If you consider yourself a self-coached athlete, books will quickly prove to be the best source of information about the sport. I learned almost everything I know about training from miscellaneous books and magazines I have read over the years, but as I have progressed as a triathlete, some books have stood out. The following three books guided me along the path from my first triathlon to training for my first Ironman:

As a newcomer to the sport of triathlon I needed a book that explained all the basics, while not overwhelming me with too much information. “Triathlete Magazine’s Complete Triathlon Book” provided me with all the knowledge needed to successfully complete my first few triathlons. The book covers everything from diet and health to equipment and safety tips.

Once I was comfortable with racing, I was ready to learn how to plan a complete season, using periodization to break up the year into different phases and correctly plan around races. The book that helped me take my training to that next level was “The Triathlete’s Training Bible.” One note though: This book has A LOT of information. Make sure you have a few triathlons under your belt before you attempt to digest it.

Over the coming year I am taking the next step–training for an Ironman. The requirements of training for that distance will add an additional levels of stress to my already busy life. Therefore I picked up “Be Iron Fit: Time-Efficient Training Secrets for Ultimate Fitness .” This book explains the most popular training and time management methods used by professionals with busy lives, allowing them to train 15 – 20 hours a week while still managing their careers and spending time with their family.

I highly recommend these books depending on your experience level. Also, don’t hesitate to look at your bookshop for other resources (I recommend Amazon)–there is a book for virtually every level of athlete.

The end of the road season is fast upon us.  My bags for Bend are packed, my bike has been shipped and there is one race left.  But that doesn’t mean training ends.  As anybody who loves riding and racing a bike will tell you – training goes on year round though it changes some.  I start adding in more of the things that I cut back on during the summer racing season, dialing back time on the bike and increasing other activities off the bike.

Core strength and flexibility are two things that really help you as a cyclist.  Upper body strength too – despite how spindly the Tour de France riders may look on tv – makes a big difference.  You don’t need to be like Arnold in his Terminator days but you don’t want to be wet spaghetti either.  You got spaghetti arms and a weak belly you got a SLOW sprint!

During the season, I maintain a flexibility program.  For me it’s not that I need to be able to do splits like back in my ballet days, but it creates and maintains balance in your body.  If you are spending 15-20 hours a week in one position bent over your handlebars it does a body good to bend in the other direction every now and then!  I am a big believer in the Active-Isolated stretch technique.  It’s not static stretching like you likely remember from high school gym class.  It’s, well, ACTIVE.  The premise is relatively simple – you work across specific joints (hence isolated), pumping blood-flow through joints and muscles by working through ranges of motion, never holding a stretch for more than a couple of seconds.  As the muscles get warmer and loosen up you can stretch deeper and deeper.  A key component of this technique is utilizing the opposing muscle groups to deepen the stretch – so if you are working on hamstring flexibility you would use your quadriceps to enhance the stretch by contracting them (the theory being the contracted quad, enables the hamstring to relax and lengthen). For more information I would refer you to http://www.whartonperformance.com/page2/page2.html or to The Wharton’s Stretch Book written by Jim and Phil Wharton.  Very simple and straightforward and highlights specific flexibility practices for specific sports.  Great stuff!

The other thing that I try to focus on year round is core strength.   Sometimes when my on-the-bike time is really high it’s as simple as doing 100 crunches in the mornings sprawled across my swiss ball.  But when my bike time is cut back, during the off-season or even on a light week, I love to add in yoga practice.  Different styles of yoga for different folks – I like Vinyasa the best, but find what you like and go for it.  Core strength is so important on the bike – for climbing and sprinting.  Breathing obviously a great skill to have on the bike and off.  Upper body strength too.  All of these things you can hone and develop through your yoga practice. Say hello to Chaturanga Dandasana!

One of my favorite healthy and quick-to-grab breakfasts is an English muffin.  Incredibly versatile, you can top them with your favorite nut butter, jam, cream cheese, or have them plain with a nice pat of butter.  Even though you can pick up English muffins at your grocery store, you’d be surprised how fun and easy they are to make in your own kitchen.  Make a large batch and store well-wrapped in your freezer for a cheaper alternative to store-bought any day of the week.

While you can choose to make a plain version of this recipe, the Cinnamon-Raisin variety is perfect for kids.

Ingredients:

• 1/3 cup hot tap Water (~roughly 110°F)
• 2 Tbsp Pure Maple Syrup or 2 Tbsp Granulated Cane Sugar
• 2 ½ tsp Active Dry Yeast
• 1 cup Skim Milk, warm
• 1 tsp Salt
• 2 tsp ground Cinnamon
• 1 cup Bob’s Red Mill Unbleached White Flour
• 1 cup Bob’s Red Mill Whole Wheat Pastry Flour
• 1/3 cup Zante Currants or Raisins
• Cornmeal  (for dusting)

Directions:

1. In large mixing bowl, whisk together yeast, hot water, and maple syrup.  Let rest for 10 minutes, uncovered, or until foamy.
2. Using wooden spoon, add flours, salt, cinnamon, and milk, stirring until smooth.  Batter will be wet and sticky.
3. Slowly stir in currants or raisins.
4. Cover bowl with plastic wrap and let rise in warm, damp place for 45 minutes.
5. Place well-greased ring molds (if you do not have English muffin rings, you can make your own out of aluminum foil or use  wide-mouth Mason jar lid rings—inside facing up), on greased baking tray.  Lightly dust the inside of rings (where batter will be placed) with cornmeal.
6. Preheat oven to 350°F.
7. Once batter has risen, evenly distribute batter among the rings using metal spoon.  Lightly dust the top of the batters with more cornmeal.
8. Bake (center rack) for 15-20 minutes or until lightly brown and internal temperature reads 210°F.
9. Let cool on baking tray for 5-10 minutes, remove from rings, and allow to cool to room temperature.
10. Serve toasted with butter, jam, or any topping of your choosing!

Laura Davidson is the blogger behind Blogging Over Thyme, where she shares her adventures and (mis)adventures in the kitchen, as well as her recently discovered passion for photography.  She currently works as a baker/decorator for a popular food truck in Washington, DC.  In her spare time, Laura loves to develop and experiment with recipes in her small apartment kitchen, often focusing on whole-grain, nutritious, and hearty dishes.   

Dear Friends,

As many of you may be aware, my wife Charlee and I recently made a commitment to make a donation to Oregon Health & Science University. We have dedicated our lives to improving health throughout the world and our intent in helping OHSU establish a nutrition and wellness institute was to focus on childhood obesity, chronic disease, much of which begins at a very early age — even at conception and in the womb. Our monies are dedicated to support research toward better nutrition, with a particular focus on development in the womb, as well as related education and community outreach. It has come to our attention that some people may be concerned about how our donation is to be used at OHSU and whether any of it will go toward animal research.

I assure you that no part of our donation will be used to fund animal research. It was never our intent that any of our gift be used in that way. We have discussed these concerns with OHSU and reaffirmed their commitment that our donation will only be used to improve nutrition and wellness in a manner consistent with our intent. Here is a link to a statement from Dr. Mark Richardson, who is the Dean of the OHSU School of Medicine (www.ohsu.edu/blogs/news/about/statement/), which confirms OHSU’s commitment to use our donation only as we intended.

We are confident that in working together with OHSU we can have a profound impact on health and wellness for many generations to come, and we thank you for your kind messages.

To your good health,

Bob and Charlee Moore
Founders
Bob’s Red Mill Natural Foods

We welcome your feedback and will publish your comments, we only ask you to please keep it civil. We are unable to post any comments that are abusive. 

It’s hard to believe that October is right around the corner, but it is. Which means it’s time, once again, for October Unprocessed. Andrew of Eating Rules has thrown down the gauntlet- are you ready to pick it up and take his challenge?

To go a month without eating any processed foods.

Some of us at the mill took the challenge last year and it was far more challenging (ha!) than I originally envisioned. Turns out it gets pretty sticky when trying to define processed foods and I’ve borrowed (liberally) from Andrew here to explain what unprocessed means.

Unprocessed food is any food that could be made by a person with reasonable skill in a home kitchen with readily available, whole-food ingredients.

Andrew calls this the “The Kitchen Test.” Could you make this item in your kitchen? Can you identify and pronounce all of the ingredients? If the answer is no, the food in question likely falls on the side of processed.

It gets even stickier when you start thinking about things like white flour and white sugar- both processed foods that probably don’t pass the test. However, a whole month of not eating white flour (we commend you if you can make it) sounds near impossible when you start thinking about trying to eat out at all during the month. The key of this challenge is thinking about food in a new way- being conscious of what comprises the food you eat—not trying to kill yourself being perfect. White sugar might just sneak in one day by accident, but if you can consciously understand what is in your food, you win.

There is no right or wrong way to play this game and only you know how seriously you’re taking it. Andrew allows that some mistakes will happen and some deliberate choices to eat a processed food are ok- as long as they are deliberate and not mindless.

{Giveaway}

We challenge you to join us in October Unprocessed. I’m giving away four gift packs—that means four lucky winners. Each winner will get to select ANY four Bob’s Red Mill® brand products of their choosing. By ANY, we mean small prepacked items, in other words, not a 25 lb bag.

How to enter:

There is only one way to be entered and only one entry per person. Head over and take Andrew’s pledge. Then, report back to us here and let us know that you took the challenge in the comments section on this blog post. I will select the four winners from all who take the challenge (and tell us about it) by 11:59 pm on 9/30/11.

10-5-11: UPDATE:

The winners of our giveaway are:

• Nicole Callen
• Melissa Hudson-Gant
• Christopher Sorel
• Abby (abbylizzy)

Congrats to our winners and thank you to everyone who took the pledge for October Unprocessed! I hope you enjoy it as much as we do. Good luck!